Surviving
by Idea-explosion
Summary: "What's the matter boy, too scared to even call for your mammy" the other boys of the gang laughed. Bolin begun to silently cry, tears rolling down his cheek.


**A/N** Hey, this is my first written fanfiction ever. I wrote it after I saw the first two episodes so if there are some things that don't go with the serie itself please remember I didn't have that kind of information at the time of writting this.

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own the Legend of Korra. If I did I wouldn't be writing this stroy ^.^

* * *

Today was just as cold as all the other days of the week.

It was snowing. Not the white kind of show you have in the field or what you would picture it to be, but grey almost black snow, dirty from all the smoge in the air.

"Watch where you're going" an old man which I had bumped into said frustrated "Kids these days" he readjusted his hat before walking further.

I put the money I had just pickpocket from the man in the pouch on my chest under my shirt. I was only wearing a shirt, trousers, something you can barely call shoes and a scarf.

I didn't get much, _guess I just have to target some other people as well_.

I hated to steal but I didn't have a choice, I needed to take care of my brother and getting food was hard enough on its own.

After stealing some more money from unsuspecting people, I walked back to a dark alley where Bolin was waiting for me.

"Big-bro" Bolin smiled at me "Look what I got" he pointed to his new acquire sweater and hold up a hand of wasn't much but food was food.

"That's great Bolin" I smiled at him, happy he at least had something warm to wear now.

"Come on, we better get going" Bolin gripped my hand holding onto it as if he was scared he'd lose me.

Bolin had always been better a getting sympathy from people, he looked cuter and was only 6 years old.

We walk for a little while before we came in a more deserted part of the city. There were a lot of abandoned buildings here. Perfect for a couple of orphans like us.

We walked into one on the far left. Nobody seemed to occupied it so we took the upper floor as our 'home'. We had been stating here for at least 7 weeks already.

There were a lot of thugs in this area but it was better than living out in the open. We needed shelter and nobody had bothers us so far.

It was getting dark outside, too dark to go on the streets in this part of town.

I had bought some bread on a stand just before I went to Bolin. It was a cheap stand and the old lady there was nice.

I broke the bread in two pieces and gave the bigger piece to Bolin. He immediately began to eat it. I could see that it had been hard for him not to eat the food he had acquired on his own.

"Aren't you cold" he asked me looking at my clothes. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm a fire bender and fire benders don't get cold" I smiled at him not wanting him to worry.

Truth to be told, I was freezing but Bolin came first he was only 6 and hadn't hardened up like I had in last year since our parents died.

I could keep myself warm but bending costs up a lot of energy, energy I couldn't spare and didn't have.

Bolin seemed to buy it like always but didn't look all too happy.

"Do you think we can watch the pro-bending matches tomorrow?" he asked while giving me my share of food.

I knew how much Bolin loved the pro-bending matches and it was warm in the standing hall. Also, most people would be too focused on the match to notice a small 8 year old stealing their money.

"I guess we could watch the match tomorrow" I answered while eating.

A bad thing although was that the matches were held at night. It would be dark by the time the matches begun and I didn't even think about how dangerous it would be to come back. I guessed we just had to spend the night somewhere close to the arena.

"It's best if we get some sleep" I sat close to Bolin, hoping to chare some body heat and to protect him. He immediately snuggled closer and buried his face in my neck.

* * *

The next morning came early. It was still snowing and there was a thin layer of snow.

"Bolin wake up" I shook him. "Hum" he only buried himself deeper in me hurting me a little.

"Bolin wake up, we have to start looking for food" I shook him again only a little harder this time. This time he did wake up.

"Come on we better get started" I stood up holding out a hand for him. He took it smiling lazy at me.

"Where are we going first?" he tried to suppress a yawn.

"Somewhere not close to the arena" I said trying to think of a good place to get food this early "I think it is best if we go to the old Fire/Water restaurant there bound to be something".

We started to head toward the old Fire/Water restaurant.

"You stay here, Bolin, try to find some nice people" I ruffled his hair making him look even cuter and to reassure him and myself "I'll be over there, looking if there are some leftovers" I pointed toward the back of the restaurant.

"Kay, be back soon" Bolin let go of my hand and started to walk around the streets trying to find some nice people he could chat with.

After seeing that there was nothing to worry about, I started to walk toward the trashcans behind the restaurant. A man with black hair who seems to be around his late 20 just enters the restaurant.

I looked at the trashcans seeing that the man just threw away more food. This was my lucky day. I gripped as much eatable stuff as I could get my hand on. It was quite a lot, finally giving us some sort of real meal.

I started to walk back to Bolin only to find him talking to a rich woman.

"You're such a cutie, where are your parents?" she smiled a sugar sweet smile but seemed honest enough.

"They're died" Bolin said sad looking at his shoes.

He wasn't sad, he barely knew our parents, but I had taught him to say that, knowing it would work. And it did. The woman immediately dropped her smile giving of a concerned and sadded expression.

"Are you all alone?" she tried to smile at him when Bolin looks up, but it wasn't a sugar sweet smile but more of a reassuring and caring one.

"No I'm here with my brother" Bolin smiled at the woman liking her.

"He leaves you alone like this?" the woman seemed mad but kept a smile on her face for Bolin. This was my cue to appear.

"Bolin" I walked up to the two of them food still in my arms, I could see Bolin was eager to eat. The woman looked with a disgust face toward me and the food I was holding.

"I see" she smiled again at Bolin but made a disgust face at me. "Here try to get something descent to eat" the woman gave Bolin some money, it was quite a bit, before walking away.

Bolin held the money close to him as we walked into an ally to eat the food I had acquired.

"Here, there is enough" I give Bolin a big amount of food, he needed it more than I did. "Thanks" he hands the money to me and started to eat.

I putted the money away knowing we would need it later on, we still needed to survive the rest of the day.

* * *

It was getting late and we needed go get to the arena. The sun was already starting to set.

We had spent most of the money from today on food there was only 1 yuan left.

We entered the standing hall. We made our way to the front hoping to get a view of the match.

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman. Tonight the amazing Thunder Tigers are up against the formidable Black Masks. Who will win this decisive match? Who will advance to the next round? We'll know in just a few minutes" the commentator shouted over the roar of the crowed.

Bolin had found a nice spot and if I stood on my toes I could see most of the match.

But I wasn't here to watch the match like Bolin. I was here to make sure we had food the next day. I couldn't begin pickpocketing yet. The match had yet to begin and most people paid too much attention to their belongs until the match got really heated. Besides I could still hear the commentator so I could follow most of the match and hear when was the right time to make a move of my own.

"And there they are people, in the blue corner the amazing Thunder Tigers, looks at those guys ready to eat the opponent alive. And in the red corner are the cool headed Black Masks, but are they capable off keeping their cool under the fierce fire of the Thunder Tigers? I don't know about you guys but this will be one breath taking match" the commentator was doing a fine job on making the crowd fired up. Just what I needed.

The bell ringed meaning that the match has begun.

"And is a quick start from the Thunder Tigers. Atta fires 3 quick shot at the Black masks, and it hits. Shara has trouble staying in zone 1. Her teammates are quick on the defence firing shots at the opponent. Atta has trouble aiming now but Hemo fires a well-placed shot and hits Shara out of zone one before she can recover" the crowd roared either from anger or excitement, perfect for me.

I made quick work knowing this will be short lived tension.

"The Black Masks seem to use the strategy to wear the Thunder Tigers out and it seems to work. Hemo has no fire power left and is quickly trough out of the field by a well-placed attack from Tirom" Again the crowd was going wild.

I took a quick look at Bolin, hoping he was doing alright. Bolin was shearing just as loud as the other spectators alto I was not quite sure for which team.

"And this round goes to the Black Masks."

I saw a man next to me who was completely fired up and didn't notice me at all. The man seemed to be middle-class but that was fine by me. I stole around 10 yuans from his before looking for the next unlucky guy.

"And we advance to the second round, the Black Masks seem prepared for the quick and fierce fires of the Thunder Tigers and trough some well-placed punches. And Atta is out of the ring. Can the other 2 still hold their ground?"

My next target was a bigger build woman screaming on top of her lungs. She had black hair put back in a messy bun an her clothes look too expensive for her ugly face and for the fact that she was standing here and not having a seat like most people from her class (if she even was from that class as her clothes suggested).

"The remaining two Thunder Tigers are putting up a good fight and have push back the Black Masks in zone 2. There are only a few second left before this round is decided and for now it looks like it goes to the Thunder Tigers. And that's it folks, this round goes to the Thunder Tigers."

It really was a good idea to come here. I already had acquired a lot of money, enough to survive 2 full days.

"It's the last round folks, and the tension is almost unbearable. Both teams are even match and there is no telling who is going to win."

I could just picture the commentator sitting on the edge of his seat microphone close to his mouth and face at the other end of his desk.

"And it's underway. It is a heated battle as the Black Masks are being pushed back into zone 2. But they fight back just as fierce. The Thunder Tigers are also pushed back into zone 2 at the same time. Neither are allowed out of their zone. This is an interesting event, the distends putts the battle on a new ground and the Thunder Tigers seem to have the edge in this round."

A few quick sweeps and I was a yuans richer.

"The Black Masks seem to hold their ground in all the attacks from the Thunder Tiger. The two minutes are almost over. It looks like it is going to be a tiebreaker."

A bell ringed signalling the round had ended.

"It a tiebreaker, who will choose the element? Who will win the deciding battle? The refugee has tossed the coin. And it to the blue corner to decide which of them is going to show of one more time. The Thunder Tigers have choice Hemo to do the honour. It's going to be a fire bender vs. fire bender showdown. Both Fire-benders have taken their spot at the sublevel" the middle ring of the arena was higherd with the two fire-bender taking a fighting stand.

"And it has begun, Hemo is first to attack but Shara avoids contact stepping out of the way of Hemo his attack. Hemo keeps on firing but seems to hit only air. Shara dances over the small battle field evading all contact. This seems to be getting on Hemo his temper. He lungs out with great power and speed but Shara is out of the way again. Hemo is balancing on the edge of the ring"everybody seemed to hold their breath.

"And he is out by a well-placed attack from Shara. That's it folks the Black Masks have won this round and advance to the next."

I walked up to Bolin. He was griming from ear to ear, guess he was for the Black Masks.

"Enjoyed watching the match little bro?" I smile an honest smile knowing it will make Bolin happy.

"It was great, the Black Masks were great. The Thunder Tigers never had a change" Bolin spoke eagerly, almost bouncing from excitement.

Most people had already started to leave and we needed to find a shelter before everybody was gone.

"I'm sure they didn't" I ruffled Bolin his hair before making my way out of the hall. Bolin follow me quickly holding my hand firm in his own.

I started looking for a shelter, which proofed more difficult that I had first though.

"What do we have here, two boys in on our turf. Maybe we should teach them a lesson" I turned around looking at 4 boys.

The leader who had spoken was around the age of 18, large build with a lot of muscle, black short hair, dark green almost black eyes and some expensive looking clothes.

The boy directly to his left was around the age of 16, he was taller than the leader but more of gawk, the easiest to defeat if they had to fight, but I wanted to avoid that. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He wore an annoying smirk on his face looking down at us like we were some kind of kicking bag that could scream.

The boy on the right side of the boss was a lot shorter than the others and seems to be 21 years old. He had long black hair falling into his face giving him a creepy look. Just like the boss, his clothes were expensive but he looks down upon is with his brown eyes as if we were a nuccens he wanted to get rid of as fast as possible.

Next to the short guys was a boy around the age of 15. Raven collard hair and blue eyes. He was just a little shorter than the leader and seemed to have some muscle. He too wore a grim that was sickening.

"I'm in a generous mood today, so I will let you two go off without any broken bones if you can pay me 100 yuans" the leader look down at us feeling all powerful.

My face darkened, how could he as such a thing, he knew we were from the street but still asks for such a thing. _Generous mood my ass. _

I stood in front of Bolin trying to protect him with my body. "Bro, I'm scared" came Bolin's scared voice from behind me. His fingers gripped into my t-shirt while his scared eyes were on the group of boys in front of us.

"I see, you want to fight" the leader made a popping sound with his knuckles "No problem, I'm sure my boys would love to beat the living daylight out of two lowlifes like you."

The 21 year old guy look for a brief second at the leader before looking back at us, a not so nice smirk was growing on his face scaring Bolin even more. The guy on the left his face held a wicked smirk eyes full of some kind of sick joy.

"This is your last change, kid, 100 yuans" the leader's grim grow more knowing I didn't have a 100 yuan.

I got into a fighting stand, eyes narrowing.

"As you wish, scum" and with that the leader lunged out at me. I moved out of the way taking Bolin with me. But the short guy had lanced a punch as well that I didn't see coming until his fist was right in front of my face.

I fell backward into Bolin who kept a steady ground eventho he was too scared to make the slightest move.

The 4 boys had surrounded us "What's the matter boy, too scared to even call for your mammy" the other boys of the gang laughed.

Bolin begun to silently cry, tears rolling down his cheek.

"Boo hoo hoo, where are mommy and daddy, not here to help you?" the boys laughed again making me sick. They all lunged forward at the same time.

I couldn't let them hurt Bolin, I had to do something. Bolin closed his eyes holding onto me like a lifeline.

I summand all the energy I had a formed a big wall of fire around the two of us.

It didn't hold for long but it fulfilled his purpose, the boys had backed away a little.

"You filthy bender" the boy from the left had hurt himself and was holding his right hand close to him. The other boys also held similar hate and disgust toward us but didn't attack.

"You're lucky our friend is more important then you kids but I don't ever want to see you again" the leader walked up to his friend as they all walked away.

Bolin was still crying into my shirt.

I turned around putting both hand on his shoulders "It's okay Bolin they're gone."

_Sniff sniff_

"But you got hurt, and, and..." Bolin was fighting hard to keep his tears back but didn't quite succeed.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Come we better look for a place to sleep" Bolin nodded trying to hide his tears in his sleeves.

_Don't worry Bolin I will protect you, I will get us out of this._

* * *

**I really hoped you enjoyed it. **

I sure did while writing it.

Please point out any mistakes I made (which probebly will be a lot) and I would love feedback.

This story is a One-Shot and it will stay that way but I might want to write another story related to this one.


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